We went to seminary together.  We also shared the same hobby of performing sleight-of-hand magic.  For a few years after seminary, Daniel and I had lost touch with each other.  Both of us were focused on our first church ministry and busy with our young families.   Then, my second church belonged to the same association of churches as Daniel’s, so we saw each other at the Pastor’s and Wives Christmas Party and re-acquainted ourselves to each other.   My family and his even decided to go camping together for a week, that summer.

Ministry had been brutal to Daniel and his wife.  His church in San Jose had lost a lot of people and was about ready to close its doors.  But Daniel was determined to remain faithful and keep going for as long as it was possible.

The last time that I saw Daniel was at the annual meeting of our association of churches, which was held every year in Monterey California for several days.   At our final meeting before returning to our homes, Daniel stood up from the balcony of the filled auditorium and addressed the crowd of primarily pastors and their wives.

With his opening words, I cringed.  “This week, I have heard a lot (in both public and private conversations) about church growth and how it is supposed to happen. My church has not grown.   In fact, it has dropped, and this past Sunday we only had 11 people in our service.”  Then he paused before he resumed.  “I probably will not be pastoring a church by this time next year.   I doubt that I will be back. But there are some things that I feel I need to say. I know that this makes me look like a failure to most of you. You might be thinking that I have nothing to say that would benefit you, but I think that I do.” 

Holding back his tears but with a shaky voice, Daniel spoke for just a few minutes longer.  He chastised the association for being so numbers-oriented with prejudgment against smaller ministries. Daniel’s boldness declared a dark secret that I have experienced at nearly every pastor’s meeting I have attended.

Pastors seek far too much of their security and significance from man (not God).  We know how wrong it is, but we still fall prey to it.  Is it any wonder why so many congregation members do the same? “Uh, how big is your church?”  “Oh wow, that is really successful!”  

Before he said his final “goodbyes,” Daniel wanted to try to change the standard of what success was, to what it should be.   Unfortunately, he did not succeed.   The number of people who attend a church – still defines whether or not a church is successful.   Pastors (and their wives …as well as their church members) show disdain toward pastors who they view as having less glory. Pastors easily become infatuated with an unquenchable thirst for conspicuous glory and mistakenly think the sheer numbers in their “flock” provides it.

Daniel cried out that this is the wrong standard of measurement.  (And I agree with Daniel.) You may think: “The reason that you agree, Pastor, is because our church is small,” and you might be partially correct.  It probably has made me sensitive to the truths we have seen in 1^st and 2^nd Timothy these past few weeks, and are now seeing in Titus.   Perhaps it is why I see it now, but didn’t, when my friend addressed the crowd.

Today, I think that I see in Timothy and Titus that success has far more to do with FAITHFULNESS.  Has church leadership remained faithful to Apostolic teaching (the Scripture)? Is it applied with integrity, even when it is difficult to do so?  Is there any compromise or looking the other way with tolerance, in regard to Scriptural truth?  Does the pastor and other leaders faithfully resist a reliance on human tactics like playing politics in order to keep people “happy” or pandering to “influential” people?  Remaining faithful in looking for and implementing what God wants, is success – not numbers!  (Anyone can get large numbers by relying on human effort. Start giving away free beer every Sunday, and ours would be the largest church in La Pine!)  

Numbers can certainly impress.  (By the way) have you noticed that social media (like Facebook) has become less about connecting and more about impressing?  Well, unfortunately, I’ve noticed the same thing with pastor “get-togethers.” 

So why am I bearing my soul on this matter?  Because in a few days, I will have the opportunity to pick up Daniel’s mantel and try to carry it forward.  I don’t attend very many pastor’s meetings and conferences. (My teaching schedule at the college doesn’t allow it.)   But in a few days, a delegation of pastors and association leaders are coming to La Pine to meet with me.  The man who arranged the meeting is my youngest daughter’s former boss, at the church in Eastern Oregon where she works. (He left last month to pastor a new church in Pendleton.)   

I want to thank him for being such a great boss to my daughter.  (As a side-note: when someone loves your child, they are showing love to you, as well.)   I also want to “Dare to Be a Daniel” (both the Daniel in the Bible and the Daniel from San Jose.)  Like my friend, I will not be ashamed of our church size!  I’m going to announce it right away and then lovingly challenge them to adopt the “Faithful” definition of success, while exhorting them to make sure they primarily seek their security and significance from God.

We need to follow the model of Christ, Who becoming human, practiced self-emptying humility.

Philippians 2:5-8 (ESV) 
⁵  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶  who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷  but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

• Carpe Diem,

Pastor Jim